One of the big challenges many start-ups face is the need to preserve cash before the revenue begins to come in and the company is break-even or cash flow positive. The balancing act is to grow the company to capture significant market share versus making sure the money lasts as long as possible.
Marketing is one of the areas that is likely affected most by this predicament. I'm not saying for a minute that other groups in the company don't face this too but marketing can at the same time help grow the company while spending a lot of money to do it. For that reason, in this economy, companies are tending to grow their marketing spend more slowly although there are exceptions.
While many new social media tactics have allowed companies to generate awareness and build a brand without spending thousands or millions on advertising, you still need people to develop the strategy and run the programs. And for the program to be successful, you need people to generate content, build websites and blogs and do all the other things that need to be done.
Unfortunately, hiring a full marketing team is a luxury many start-ups don't have and may not have for quite some time. So what is a founder to do to kick-start the marketing efforts and put his product on the map? Or, what is the original marketing hire to do when the company wants to ramp up its efforts and you already work around the clock to get things done?
What I've found works quite well and gives you the biggest bang for the buck is to create a virtual team of marketing, communications, web, SEO, PR, and the list goes on, contractors. Basically, find the person who works out of their home and applies their specific skills for a number of companies rather than working full time for one. In some cases, it may be a small agency and small is the key word here as the larger the agency gets, the higher the rates they will charge which hurts the budget you don't have yet.
Initially it may be hard to find these people but they do exist and they are experts in their field while not charging what a large agency might bill you. The other huge advantage of going this route is that the person who pitches you to get your business is very likely, and in some cases definitely, the person doing the work.
Don't underestimate how important this is compared to the bait and switch you might get at the larger agencies. You know what I mean where you get the principals pitching you the business but the most junior person does the work, yet you pay the senior or at the very least inflated rates.
Now don't get me wrong, there will be a time and place where you need an agency and some larger agencies are better than others at servicing start-ups but now is not the time, or even possible, for you to spend large amounts of money.
The other option is to hire a "junior" person in house but the way I look at this is that in the early days do you really need a designer full time or do you need them part time or a few days a month? What about that web developer? You likely only need them full time at the start of the project and then part time as the site launches.
Well, the good news is that there are a lot of people who make a good living working for a number of companies doing something they are experts in. You get top notch talent without having to pay a full time salary for them. It's a win-win situation as they can also make more money as their day rate is higher than if they worked full-time.
Now, if you are the founder and have no one in marketing you will likely need a person in house to manage your virtual team as you have other things to do. If you can afford it that's the way to go. Look for someone who is more of a generalist and strategists rather than expert as they can fill in the blanks as needed and will know what specialists are needed and when.
Building a virtual team is not only a cost-effective way to do your marketing but it can also result in an extremely successful marketing program and put your start-up on the map in ways you can't imagine. You've got a team of free agent, all-stars who excel at specific marketing tactics all working for you. What could be better than that to get you started?
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